page_title: Coaching stock of Ireland
section_title: Mark 3 (1984–2009)
hierarchical_section_title: Coaching stock of Ireland / Ireland / Former stock / Mark 3 (1984–2009)
caption_attribution_description: English: IÉ BR Mk 3 railway coach at Dublin Heuston railway station, Ireland
context_page_description: A wide variety of hauled coaches have been used on the railways of Ireland. This page lists all those since 1945.
context_section_description: Introduced on the CIÉ system in 1984 the last set was withdrawn on Monday 28 September 2009. The decision to purchase a new fleet of modern Intercity coaches based on the British Rail Mark 3 design was made because of several accidents involving the older style, wooden framed, coaches. They were already a well-proven design used for British Rail's High Speed Train (HST).
  The first 44 Open Standards (7101–44) and five Buffets (7401–05) and seven Generator Vans (7601–07) were built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The remainder (7145–72, 7406–13, 7608–15) were built under licence in Inchicore between 1984 and 1989. The coaches ran on 5 ft 3 in gauge versions of British Rail's BT22 Air Suspension bogie, and were air-braked.
  The Irish Mark 3 coaches were similar, but not identical, to their British counterparts. They had a different electrical system (220/380V, 50 Hz) and were the first Mark 3's to be fitted with automatic swing-plug doors. There were also some different internal layouts more specifically suited to Irish traffic.
  Twenty-four coaches were built for push-pull operation on the suburban rail service including five built to Control Cars (6101–05, 6301–19). Originally used in conjunction with the 121 Class locomotives they were last used with 201 Class locomotives. There were a number of differences between the Irish push-pull Mark 3's and the standard Mark 3's. An underfloor generator, mounted in the Control Car, provided electrical power to the coaches; unlike on the standard Mark 3's, which used a special generator van. This single generator was not as powerful as the two used in the Mark 3 generator vans and was the main reason the sets were limited to 6 cars. Irish Mark 3 push-pull based rolling stock did not have air conditioning and had opening windows instead. There was also a 70 mph speed restriction imposed on the train due to the fact that three of the Control Cars were fitted with LHB bogies from an 8100 Class DART and were air-braked.
  In 2004, a 1979 vintage British Rail Mark 3 TRFK (Trailer Restaurant First Kitchen) coach was converted by Interfleet into a modern Snack Car for use on a Push-pull set. This set was usually used on the Waterford route.
  The Mark 3A "Cú Na Mara" set, now withdrawn, operated exclusively on the Dublin to Galway route, and was originally the BREL International Train, a showcase project designed to secure overseas orders. The set travelled to a German rail exhibition in 1988, but returned without any new orders and languished for some years before being sold on through Vic Berry. CIÉ converted the many different interior layouts to their own standard design (6201–08 ex 99521–22/24–29, Restaurant Buffet 6401 ex 99523), fitted their own Mark 3 type powered door and re-bogied with ABB bogies. Although also re-wired for Push-Pull operation the fact that an additional coach wasn't converted to a Driving Brake Standard (planned 6501 ex 99520) prevented the set from ever running with this configuration.
  This set marked the end of coach building in Inchicore.
  The plug door design found on the CIÉ Mark 3 coaches was later used on the British Rail Class 442 long-distance commuter train.
  In 2008, IÉ announced plans to sell off the Mark 3 fleet. and having failed to so do they announced plans to scrap most of them 4 years later in 2012.
  All remaining Mark 3 sets were withdrawn from service on 21 September 2009, the final service being a 13:45 Dublin-Cork relief train. However, one set was brought back for a charity event for enthusiasts on 24 April 2010. This tour also formed the 12:40 Limerick – Ennis service train, making this the last passenger service operated by a Mark 3 set.
  Two Mark 3 sets were stored at Dundalk post withdrawal and it was reported that their bodies were in such a bad state that they could not be brought to Dublin to be scrapped. Since the poor condition of the coaches precluded their transferral to Dublin for scrap, they were scrapped where they stood in Dundalk yard on 10 February 2014.
  Four of the Mark 3 control cars were scrapped except 6105 which is stabled at t
caption: Mark 3 in Heuston Station, 2006
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